Longtime KTVU TV anchor and reporter Frank Somerville, who started as an intern at the Bay Area station, has been knighted to replace Dennis Richmond as co-anchor of its 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts.

Richmond, who is retiring next month after 40 years at KTVU, is the last of a generation of marquee local news anchors who frequently ranked high in viewer polls of favorite TV news personalities. As KTVU General Manager Tim McVay said Wednesday, "Nobody wants to replace Dennis Richmond. But it's awfully reassuring to me to know that we've got a strong veteran news team here."

"I sort of feel like Steve Young replacing Joe Montana or Jeff Garcia when he replaced Steve Young," the Berkeley-born-and-raised Somerville, 50, said Wednesday. "I'm not going to go in and try to be Dennis, because there is only one Dennis. I'm just going to be me and do what I do best."

Analysts and local TV news executives predict that Bay Area TV news viewers will sample other newscasts after Richmond leaves next month. With the addition of KPIX's recent 10 p.m. newscast on the CW - Channel 44/Cable 12 (KBCW) - going head-to-head with KTVU, there are now more than 32 hours of locally produced English-language TV news available every 24 hours to Bay Area viewers. And news directors say more newscasts may be on the way, because they are affordable to produce and the traditional TV news audience is fragmenting.

But McVay is confident that there will be minimal decline in viewership in the post-Richmond era, which begins when Somerville takes over May 22.

First, he said, Somerville joins a veteran news team that is familiar to Bay Area viewers. Co-anchor Julie Haener has been on KTVU for 10 years, chief meteorologist Bill Martin for 12 and sports director Mark Ibanez for 29.

Somerville, the co-anchor of KTVU's highly rated "Mornings on 2" since 1992, is a 16-year veteran of the station. He was named anchor of the "Channel 2 News at 5" when it launched in April 2005. Somerville will continue to co-anchor that newscast with Gasia Mikaelian.

Perhaps most important, when Somerville subbed for Richmond in the fall and for much of February while the anchor was ailing, McVay said the newscast's ratings did not slip.

Was that a deal clincher?

"No, but it was certainly part of the evaluation," McVay said, adding that there was a nationwide search for a replacement. "Frank has a very active, inquisitive news mind. He genuinely has a passion for this business."

"Nobody will out-curious me," Somerville said. "What I love about this business is that it is different every day."

In a statement, Richmond said, "I think it is a great decision. Frank has earned everything he has achieved. He worked hard to get this and deserves this. I'm thrilled that Frank will be anchoring with Julie."

Somerville has received three Emmy awards at KTVU, including one for best on-camera news anchor.

The Berkeley High School graduate interned at KTVU in 1981 while attending San Francisco State University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast communications arts. He has worked at KFTY in Santa Rosa, KSTP in Minneapolis and WJAR in Providence, R.I., before returning to the Bay Area.